Contact formation

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure includes various methods of contact embodiments. One such method embodiment includes forming a trench in an insulator stack material of a particular thickness. This method includes forming a filler material in the trench and removing the filler material to a particular depth that is less than the particular thickness of the insulator stack material. This method also includes forming a spacer material on at least one side surface of the trench to the particular depth of the filler material and forming a conductive material in the trench over the filler material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/787,684, filed May 26, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/401,996, filed Mar. 11, 2009, issued as U.S.Pat. No. 7,737,022 on Jun. 15, 2010, which is a divisional of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/363,661, filed Feb. 27, 2006, the entirespecification of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to semiconductor devices and,more particularly, to contact process technology for use in memory,image, logic, and other semiconductor devices.

BACKGROUND

Implementing electronic circuits involves connecting isolated devices orcircuit components through specific electronic paths. In siliconintegrated circuit (IC) fabrication, circuit components that are formedin a single substrate are often isolated from one another. Theindividual circuit components can be subsequently interconnected tocreate a specific circuit configuration.

The integrated circuit industry continues to progress in electroniccircuit densification and miniaturization. This progress has resulted inincreasingly compact and efficient semiconductor devices, which in turnenable the systems into which these devices are incorporated to be madesmaller and less power consumptive.

During the formation of semiconductor devices, such as dynamic randomaccess memories (DRAMs), static random access memories (SRAMs),microprocessors, etc., insulating layers, such as silicon dioxide,phosphorous doped silicon dioxide, or other materials, can be used toelectrically separate conductive layers, such as doped polycrystallinesilicon, doped silicon, aluminum, refractory metal silicides, and layersformed from other conductive materials.

In fabricating electronic circuits, layers of material are applied overeach other to provide various features to the circuits. During thisprocess portions or entire layers can be removed in order for layerunderneath to be accessed. In some fabrication methods, additionalmaterials can be used to fill in the removed portions. Such layering andremoving processes can include, deposition, etching, planarizing,photolithography, among other processes.

In many devices, conductive layers can be interconnected throughopenings in the insulating layer. Such openings are commonly referred toas contact openings (e.g., when the opening extends through aninsulating layer to an active device area). Generally, such openings arealso referred to as holes or vias (i.e., when the opening extendsthrough an insulating layer between two conductive layers).

In addition to size, the time it takes and material used in amanufacturing process can be important factors in circuit design. Forexample, aspects that can be changed that can benefit the manufacturingprocess include the number of layering processes, the time taken toperform the processes, and/or the amount of materials used in theseprocesses can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the present disclosure will become moreapparent from the following detailed description of the embodimentsdescribed below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawingswhere:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of anembodiment of an in-process contact structure in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 1 after depositing aninsulator material.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 2 after forming a number ofcontact openings.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 3 after filling with afiller material.

FIG. 5A is a representation of the positioning of a number of digit andcell contacts from an overhead perspective of the embodiment of thecontact structure in FIG. 4 after forming a trench structure.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 4 after forming a trenchstructure.

FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 4 after forming a trenchstructure if a sacrificial material is used.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 5 after applying a spacermaterial.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 6 after applying a linermaterial.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 7 after applying a conductormaterial.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 8 after planarizing theconductor material.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 9 after forming a recess andapplying a cap material.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary integrated circuitthat includes an embodiment of the contact structures of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary electronic system that can include embodimentsof the contact structures of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure includes various method, circuit, device, andsystem embodiments. Various embodiments disclosed herein can be used toreduce the number of layering processes, the time taken to perform theprocesses, and/or the amount of materials used in these processes can bereduced, among other benefits.

One such method embodiment includes creating a trench in an insulatorstack material having a portion of the trench positioned between two ofa number of gates and depositing a spacer material to at least one sidesurface of the trench. This method also includes depositing a conductivematerial into the trench and depositing a cap material into the trench.

In some embodiments, the number of gates can each have a cap that has aheight of 1500 angstroms or less. Embodiments can include creating anumber of gates, for example, each having a cap that has a height ofapproximately 700 angstroms. In various embodiments, the number of gatescan each have a cap that has a height of 700 angstroms or less.

The terms “substrate” or “substrate assembly” as used herein refer to asemiconductor substrate such as a base semiconductor layer or asemiconductor substrate having one or more layers, structures, and/orregions formed thereon. A base semiconductor layer is typically thelowest layer of silicon material on a wafer or a silicon layer depositedon another material, such as silicon on sapphire. When reference is madeto a substrate assembly, various process steps may have been previouslyused to form or define regions, junctions, various structures/features,and/or openings such as capacitor plates and/or barriers for capacitors.

“Layer” as used herein refers to any layer that can be formed on asubstrate using a deposition or other process. The term “layer” is meantto include layers specific to the semiconductor industry, such as“barrier layer,” “dielectric layer,” and “conductive layer.” (The term“layer” is synonymous with the term “film” as it is used in thesemiconductor industry). The term “layer” is also meant to includelayers found in technology outside of semiconductor technology, such ascoatings on glass.

In the Figures, the first digit or two (i.e., first digit for threedigit numbers and first two digits for four digit numbers) of areference number refers to the Figure in which it is used, while theremaining two digits of the reference number refer to the same orequivalent parts of embodiment(s) of the present disclosure usedthroughout the several figures of the drawing. The scaling of thefigures does not represent precise dimensions of the various elementsillustrated therein.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detailwith reference to the accompanying figures. It should be noted thatalthough the figures illustrate one conductor being formed, the variousembodiments contemplated herein can have any number of conductors formedtherein.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of anembodiment of an in-process contact structure in accordance with thepresent disclosure. In this embodiment, a number of gate structures 112,116, 118, and 120 have been formed on a substrate 110.

Each gate structure, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, includes apolysilicon structure 114 which can be used a contact or a portionthereof. Although a particular type of gate structure is illustrated,various types of gate structures can be used in the various embodimentsof the present disclosure. Additionally, in various embodiments,components can be formed within the substrate 110 below the level onwhich the gates 112, 116, 118, and 120 are formed.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure it is possible to forma gate cap (e.g., gate cap 115 of FIG. 1) having a thickness of lessthan 1500 angstroms (A). In many contact fabrication processes gate capthicknesses are at least 1500 A because the cap may be exposed to one ormore planarization processes.

As discussed herein, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, thecontact can be formed without exposure of the cap to planarizationprocesses. Accordingly, the cap thickness can be reduced. For example,in some embodiments, the cap thickness can be approximately 700 A. Thiscan be beneficial in: the ease of patterning a gate or contactstructure, reducing the vertical size of the components, reducing thetime used for contact formation, and reducing the amount of materialutilized, among other benefits.

After the gates have been formed, an insulator material can bedeposited. For example, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplaryportion of the embodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 1 afterdepositing an insulator material. As shown in FIG. 2, an insulatormaterial 222 is deposited over gates 212, 216, 218, and 220 to form aninsulator stack layer. This can, for example, be accomplished bydepositing a barrier layer (e.g., a thin nitride layer, not shown inFIG. 2) and a spin on dielectric (SOD).

In various embodiments, a thick layer of insulator material may bedeposited. For example, the thickness 217 of layer 222 can be 1800 Aover the top surface of the gate, in some embodiments. When applied, theupper surface of the insulator material can be planarized to provide asubstantially uniform thickness.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 2 after forming a number ofcontact openings. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, contact openings 324 canbe formed in the insulator stack layer 322.

The forming of the contact openings can be accomplished, for example bya masking process (e.g., a dual masking process) to pattern discretecontacts in the array. These contact openings can be used to define cellcontacts and digit contacts. The forming of the contact opening can beaccomplished in a variety of ways. For example, various etch techniquescan be used to etch into the insulator layer.

In some embodiments, a number of etch techniques can be combined to formthe contact openings. For example, in some embodiments a contact dryetch can be used to form a substantially straight wall for a portion ofthe depth of the contact opening (e.g., a depth of about 1500 A), then aSAC-type etch as the contact is formed along the side of the gates(e.g., gates 312, 316, 318, and 320, of FIG. 3).

In some embodiments, such combination of etching techniques can allowthe area between the gates to be more accurately removed than etching bya single method. Combination of etching techniques can also allow forthe maintaining of insulation between a contact and a gate conductor, insome embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 3 after filling with afiller material. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the contact openings formedin the insulator stack layer material 422 can be filled with a fillermaterial 426.

Various filler materials can be used, such that at least a portion ofthe filler material can be removed during other processes. For example,suitable filler materials can include polysilicon or a sacrificialmaterial. In some embodiments, the material can be of a type that can beetched at about the same rate as an SOD material. This filler materialcan be planarized to provide a layer having a substantially uniformthickness.

FIG. 5A is a representation of the positioning of a number of digit andcell contacts from an overhead perspective of the embodiment of thecontact structure in FIG. 4 after forming a trench structure. In thisfigure, the representation illustrates cell contacts with hatch anddigit contacts with no hatching.

As depicted in the upper portion of FIG. 5A, digit and cell contacts canbe grouped into contact groups, for example, is the contacts shareresources, such as source, drain and/or active regions. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 5A, the contacts are grouped in groups 525 ofthree with each group having one digit contact 528 with a cell contact529 on each side.

FIG. 5A illustrates six such groups arranged on the substrate. However,embodiments can have one or more contacts grouped together and can haveone or more groups of contacts.

The bottom portion illustrates an embodiment of the present disclosurein which a trench is formed through the at least one of the digitcontacts of the substrate. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 5A, thetrench 527 is formed through two digit contacts 528. In variousembodiments, the trench is formed through all of the digit contacts onthe substrate.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 4 after forming a trenchstructure. In the embodiment of FIG. 5B, the trench 527 is formed in afiller material of a digit contact 528 between two insulative materialstructures 522. FIG. 5B also shows a number of cell contacts 529.

The trench structure can be formed in the filler material in a varietyof manners. That is, as the reader will appreciate, the methods of thepresent disclosure can utilize a number of different techniques forpatterning the different trenches, openings, layers, and other suchformations described herein. These can include various deposition,planarization, etching, and/or erosion techniques, among others. Forexample, the trench can be etched into the filler material. In someembodiments, a damascene trench can formed. When forming the trench, insome embodiments, the filler material and the surrounding SOD materialcan be etched to form the trench. The depth of the trench (e.g., depth523 of FIG. 5B) can be various depths. For example, a depth of 1500 Acan be suitable in some structures. In some embodiments, a spacermaterial can be applied to at least a portion of one of the side wallsof the trench.

FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 4 after forming a trenchstructure if a sacrificial material is used. In the embodiment of FIG.5C, the trench 527 can be formed as above in a filler material of adigit contact 528 between two insulative material structures 522. FIG.5B also shows a number of cell contacts 529. However, if a sacrificialmaterial is used during the process, then a protective layer 521 can beprovided over the sacrificial (e.g., cell structures 529) and insulativelayers 522. The protective layer can, for example, be fabricated fromTetraethyl Orthosilicate, Si(OC₂H₅)₄, among other suitable materials.

FIG. 6 provides a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 5B after applying a spacermaterial. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, a spacer material 630is applied on each side wall of the trench 627. This spacer material canbe any suitable spacer material. For example, a dielectric material,such as Tetraethyl Orthosilicate or Silicon Nitride, can be used as aspacer material. The spacer material can also be applied in a variety ofthicknesses. For example, a thickness of 250 A of spacer material can beapplied via chemical vapor deposition (CVD), among other depositiontechniques.

If using a sacrificial contact filler material, this material can beremoved, for example, after spacer formation. Peripheral contacts can bepatterned and plugs, interconnects, openings, and trenches can be filledwith conductive material. In some embodiments, the filling of the plugs,interconnects, openings, and trenches can be done at the same time.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 6 after applying a linermaterial. The liner material can be deposited over the trench, thespacer material, and/or the top surface of the insulator and fillermaterials. For example, the embodiment of FIG. 7 illustrates adeposition over all of these surfaces including the spacer material 730positioned in the trench formed in filler material 726. A liner materialcan be used in some embodiments, for example, to form a barrier layer,to adhere one layer to another (e.g., to act as a glue or adhesive),and/or as a low resistance interface layer.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 7 after applying a conductormaterial.

In various embodiments, a conductor material can be deposited over theliner material, including the portions positioned over the trench, thespacer material, and/or the top surface of the insulator and fillermaterials. For example, the embodiment of FIG. 8 illustrates adeposition of the conductor material 834 over a liner 832 covering allof these surfaces.

In some embodiments, a damascene conductor material can be deposited.Various embodiments utilize different thicknesses of such conductormaterials. For example, 75 A Titanium, 75 A Titanium Nitride, and/or 300A Tungsten (W) can be applied, among other quantities and materialtypes. Embodiments can include filling a number of open contacts withconductive material 834 during the process of depositing the conductivematerial 834 into the trench. The conductive material is a materialselected from the group including: Titanium, Titanium Nitride, TungstenNitride, Tungsten, and a combination of at least two of the abovematerials. For example, Titanium. Nitride and Titanium/Titanium Nitrideare two such combinations. Such materials can be used to fill the trenchwith the conductor material 834.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 8 after recessing theconductor material. The conductor material can be planarized in avariety of manners. If planarization is performed, a top oxide layer ofthe device can be eroded, for example such that the conductor materialand the liner material positioned outside of the trench can be removed.

In the embodiment of FIG. 9, this process can provide a trench structurehaving a conductor material 934, mounted in a liner 932, and havingspacers 930 therein. The erosion can also remove a portion of theinsulator and filler materials as the process erodes substantially allof the liner material positioned outside the trench. For example, in oneembodiment, the insulator layer (e.g., oxide material) is eroded about200 A in this process.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary portion of theembodiment of the contact structure in FIG. 9 after applying a capmaterial. In this process, the conductor material 1034 can be recessed,for example, to provide room within the trench for a cap. For instance,the conductor can be recessed to a depth of about 700 A, among otherdepths. During this process, the liner material 1032 may also be erodedbetween the spacer material 1030 and the conductor material 1034.

In various embodiments, a cap material 1036 can be deposited in therecess formed from the removal of the portion of the conductor material1034 and, in some embodiments, the liner material 1032. For example, adielectric cap can be deposited over the trench conductor (e.g., SiliconNitride or Silicon Oxide), to fill the trench. For instance, the capmaterial can be deposited in a thickness sufficient to cover theconductor material and, in some embodiments, liner material. In someembodiments, the cap can be planarized. During this process, theinsulator material and/or the filler material can also be eroded.

Once the contact has been formed in accordance with some or all of theprocesses described above, various container formation and metallizationprocesses can be accomplished to add further aspects the substrate.

Hence, the present disclosure includes a number of semiconductorstructure embodiments. For example, in one such embodiment, thesemiconductor structure includes a trench structure having at least oneside wall formed in an insulator material, and a spacer materialpositioned on the at least one side wall. This exemplary embodiment alsoincludes a conductive material positioned within the trench structureand a cap material positioned over the conductive material.

In various embodiments, the trench structure can be a damascene trenchstructure. The trench structure can be formed along a path over a numberof digit contacts and not over a number of cell contacts, in variousembodiments. In some embodiments, the trench structure can be formedonly over digit contacts. Embodiments can also include a liner materialpositioned within the trench structure and over at least a portion ofthe spacer material.

The conductive material can be positioned in a contact opening formedover a number of the digit contacts, for example. In some embodiments,the cap material can be positioned in the contact openings for over thenumber of the digit contacts. Various types of components can be formedin the active areas. Such components include imaging devices, memorydevices or logic devices, among others. Thus, the present disclosurealso includes a number of memory device embodiments. For example, in onesuch embodiment, the memory device includes a semiconductor substrateincluding a number of contacts, a trench structure positioned over anumber of the contacts, the trench structure having at least one sidewall formed in an insulator material, a spacer material positioned onthe at least one side wall, a conductive material positioned within thetrench structure, and a cap material positioned over the conductivematerial.

The present disclosure also includes a number of integrated circuitembodiments. For example, in one such embodiment, the integrated circuitincludes a semiconductor substrate including a number of cell and digitcontacts. A trench structure can be positioned over the digit contactswith the trench structure having at least one side wall formed in aninsulator material. A spacer material can be positioned on the at leastone side wall with a liner material positioned within the trenchstructure and over at least a portion of the spacer material, in someembodiments. A conductive material can be positioned within the trenchstructure and a cap material positioned over the conductive material.

A completed integrated circuit can include an array of memory cells fora DRAM or other memory device. In other integrated circuits, logicdevices for gate arrays, microprocessors, and/or digital signalprocessors can be formed in the active regions.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary integrated circuitthat includes an embodiment of the contact structures of the presentdisclosure. The various structures illustrated can be formed using thetechniques described above, among others.

In the embodiment of FIG. 11, a stacked-cell DRAM 1140 includes asemiconductor substrate 1142 with multiple active regions 1144 separatedby shallow trench isolation regions 1146. Doped regions 1152, 1153 canbe formed, for example, by a diffusion implanted process with theregions 1152 serving as storage nodes for memory cells of the DRAM.

Gates 1112, 1116, 1118, and 1120 are provided in the integrated circuit.In various embodiments, one or more of the gates can include nitride orother spacers provided on either side of the gates (not shown). Gatescan include a polysilicon layer 1114 and a cap provided by an insulatingmaterial, for example. The insulating materials can include, forexample, an oxide, a nitride, or a composite such as oxide/nitride oroxide/nitride/oxide combinations, among others.

Gates can also include a barrier metal layer and a metal layer betweenthe polysilicon layer 1114 and the cap. Suitable barrier metal layersinclude tungsten nitride, titanium nitride, and tantalum nitride, amongothers. The metal layer can include tungsten, tungsten silicide,titanium silicide, or cobalt silicide, among others. Polysiliconmaterial components 1126 form the contacts to the drain and sourceregions 1152.

In the illustrated integrated circuit of FIG. 11, capacitor cellscomprise lower storage node electrodes 1162, a cell dielectric 1164, andan upper electrode 1166. A metal contact 1168 provides the electricalconnection between a digit contact, formed according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure, which serves as the bit line and a firstmetallization layer 1170. As illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 11,the contact includes spacer material 1130 provided within a trenchformed between insulation material structures 1122, a liner 1132, aconductor material 1134, and a cap material 1136.

An insulating layer 1172 can be used to separate the first metallizationlayer 1170 from a second metallization layer 1174. The semiconductorwafer can be covered by a passivation layer 1176.

Although FIG. 11 illustrates a stacked-cell DRAM, contacts formedaccording to the techniques described above can be incorporated into anyother type of memory such as trench cell DRAMs, flash memory, embeddedmemory, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM),and the like.

Accordingly, the present disclosure also includes a number of electronicsystem embodiments. For example, in one such embodiment, the systemincludes a controller; and a memory device coupled to the controller,the memory device having an array of memory cells. Such memory can be adynamic random access memory device or other such memory component. Invarious embodiments, the controller can be a processor. Memory cells caninclude components such as a semiconductor substrate. The substrate caninclude a number of contacts, a contact structure forming at least oneof the contacts. The contact structure can have at least one side wallformed in an insulator material and a spacer material positioned on theat least one side wall. The structure can also include a liner materialpositioned within the contact structure and over at least a portion ofthe spacer material, a conductive material positioned within the contactstructure, and a cap material positioned over the conductive material.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary electronic system that can include embodimentsof the contact structures of the present disclosure. Embodiments of thepresent disclosure can also include an electronic system thatincorporates the contacts formed according to embodiments describedherein. For example, FIG. 12 provides an embodiment of a processor basedsystem 1280 that includes a memory having contacts formed according tothe present disclosure for use in a memory device 1282 and controlled bycontroller 1292.

As shown in FIG. 12, the system 1280 may also include one or more inputdevices 1284, e.g., a keyboard, touch screen, transceiver, mouse, etc.The input devices can be connected to the computing unit 1286 to allow auser to input data, instructions, etc., to operate the computing unit1286.

One or more output devices 1288 connected to the computing unit 1286 mayalso be provided as part of the system 1280 to display or otherwiseoutput data generated by the processor 1290. Examples of output devicesinclude printers, video terminals, monitors, display units, etc.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that anarrangement calculated to achieve the same results can be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coveradaptations or variations of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

It is to be understood that the above description has been made in anillustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combination of theabove embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically describedherein will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing theabove description.

The scope of the various embodiments of the present disclosure includesother applications in which the above structures and methods are used.Therefore, the scope of various embodiments of the present disclosureshould be determined with reference to the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are groupedtogether in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the disclosed embodiments of the presentdisclosure have to use more features than are expressly recited in eachclaim.

Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter liesin less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

1. A method of contact formation, comprising: forming a trench in aninsulator stack material of a particular thickness; forming a fillermaterial in the trench and removing the filler material to a particulardepth that is less than the particular thickness of the insulator stackmaterial; forming a spacer material on at least one side surface of thetrench to the particular depth of the filler material, wherein a portionof the filler material remains exposed; forming a conductive material inthe trench over the filler material; and forming a recess in theconductive material into the trench.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe method includes forming a liner material in the trench over thefiller material and the spacer material.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein forming the trench in the insulator stack material includespositioning a portion of the trench between two of a number of gateseach having a gate cap.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein forming thefiller material in the trench includes depositing a filler materialselected from a group that includes a sacrificial material and apolysilicon material.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein forming thespacer material includes depositing the spacer material on at least oneside surface of the trench to the particular depth of the fillermaterial.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes forminga cap material over the conductive material to fill the trench.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein prior to forming the trench in the insulatorstack material, forming an insulator stack layer formed from theinsulator stack material and wherein the layer has a thickness between atop surface of the layer and a top surface of at least one gate of atleast 1800 angstroms.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the methodincludes forming the conductive material in a number of open contactsduring the process of forming the conductive material in the trench. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein forming the conductive material in thetrench includes depositing a conductive material into the trenchselected from the group including: Titanium; Titanium Nitride; TungstenNitride; Tungsten; and a combination of at least two of the abovematerials.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includesforming the filler material in a number of open contacts.
 11. A methodof contact formation, comprising: forming an insulator material of aparticular thickness to form an insulator stack; forming a first contactopening; forming a filler material in the first contact opening; forminga trench having at least one side surface in the filler material,wherein the filler material is removed to a depth that is less than theparticular thickness of the insulator material; forming a spacermaterial on the at least one side surface to the depth of the trench inthe filler material, wherein a portion of the filler material remainsexposed; forming a conductive material in the trench over the fillermaterial; and forming a recess into the trench by removing a portion ofthe conductive material.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the methodincludes forming a liner material in the trench over the filler materialand the spacer material.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the methodincludes forming the conductive material in the trench over the linermaterial and forming the recess into the trench by removing a portion ofthe liner material.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the methodincludes performing a dual masking technique to pattern a number ofcontacts in a contact array to a depth of at least 1500 angstroms priorto forming the filler material in the first contact opening.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein forming the trench includes etching thefiller material and the insulator material.
 16. The method of claim 11,wherein forming the spacer material on the at least one side surfaceincludes applying a spacer dielectric to line the trench side wall. 17.The method of claim 11, wherein forming a spacer material on the atleast one side surface includes applying a material to a thickness ofapproximately 250 angstroms.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein themethod includes forming conductive material in a number of peripherycontact openings and interconnects during the process of forming theconductive material in the trench.
 19. A method of contact formation,comprising: forming a trench structure along a path over a number ofdigit contacts and not over a number of cell contacts associated with asemiconductor substrate; forming the trench structure positioned overthe number of the digit contacts with at least one side wall formed inan insulator material of a particular thickness; forming a spacermaterial on the at least one side wall, forming a conductive materialwithin the trench structure; and forming a recess iin the conductivematerial into the trench.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the methodincludes forming the filler material in the trench structure andremoving the filler material to a particular depth that is less than theparticular thickness of the insulator material.